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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-11-04, Page 3• ,. i stritill 417 o i' #3• YN 1� t. + '1 yi1 '9i 3r 1 1 r /� Asa A .1 3 esir �- n: lwrf r4jilry.v,. ti4 rs. r� �} �0AR, .. sj iMi. 4, sr3res yj f'f t'!f,' ./ f!� rte{ ,,,.� � „i kis •$1`1 tr1 ►�iArk t A ..i t f ..ori - J �l'�, qi, i1ijy�• ,4psi HALLOWE'EN AT • NURSERY — Lindsey McLeod, Scott Ralph, Pamela shown at the Thursday afternoon Hallowe'en party at the Toddlers Pickering and Alicia W• unnink are Inn nursery school. PUC hydro budget accepted The proposed 1988 capital and operating budgets for the PUC hydro department were presented to com- missioners at their regular October session. PUC manager Hugh Davis singled out some items in both the $224,798 capital estimate, and the forecast of $274,950 for operating, ad- ministration and maintenance. Over $14,000 has been allocated for extension of the overhead distribution system on Pickard Road. Davis ex- pects the service to be completed next year, allowing the town to offer poten- tial customers fully serviced lots. A further $20,000 is ear -marked for un- foreseen extensions. Davis said he was "caught badly" this year by business expansions and developments that occurred after the 1987 budget was set. The retail and in- dustrial sectors of Exeter are current- ly experiencing remarkable growth. A further $24,357 will be spent on betterments, as Davis expects no sub- division development next year. In- cluded in the betterments will be replacement of the wood pin crossarms on Wellington, Sanders and Victoria Streets with steel pin crossarms. Wiring on Andrews from Sanders to Hill will be updated. The budget calls for a total of $86,430 for extension, betterments and additional service on the overhead system. Another $36,000 is allocated to ex- tensions and added services to the underground distribution system, and $48,000 will be spent for transformers, poles and installation. Commissioners wanted to know why a rubber glove inflator was in- cluded among equipment items. Davis explained that the protective rubber -gloves used by linemen are laboratory -tested every 60 days for 10,000 volts (although the Exeter system carries no more than 5,000). Before useage, a lineman does an air test that only checks the hands and fingers. There is no way to check the . cuffs for cuts. An inflator would check the entire glove. The sum of $25,000 is allocated in the operating budget to have a crew come in with specialized equipment to remove the PCB -contaminated oil in two transformers at the Wellington St. sub -station. Davis said this was be- ing done as a precautionary measure to eliminate a supposed hazard. The transformers can not be serviced un- til the oil is filtered. Davis promised the operation will be carried out safe- ly. and with little disruption of service. The Exeter PUC has been notified by Ontario Hydro that the wholesale cost of electricity will increase by 4.7 percent in January, 1988. Davis reported that water heaters are renting- briskly; he said the revenue lost to homes equipped with high-energy gas furnaces is picked up with the water heaters, which operate on the average of 16.8 hours in 24. A letter has been received from the ministry of the a\vironment approv- ing a grant of $8,615.15 to pay two- thirds of the cost of. a study of the town's water distribution system. Davis said that once the study has been completed the PUC will be in a position to apply for rehabilitation grant money to carry out any recom- mended improvements. The Exeter utility has now com- pleted 17 years in the hydro depart- ment, and logged 109,049 hours in the water department, without a compen- satable accident. Davis will receive a 25 -year plaque at the district seven annual meeting of the Municipal Electrical Associa- tion in Woodstock in November. (He has actually served for 30 years, but plaques are only given for 10, 20 and 25 years). Commission chairman Murray Greene will receive a 20 -year award, and mayor Bruce Shaw will be presented with a 10 -year plaque altough he has been on the commis- sion for 11 years. Tax reform concerns Mickle Reeve Bill Mickle outlined some of , his concerns regarding proposed new OPP report 3 accidents t While only three accidents were in- vestigated this week by officers of the Exeter detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police, they were busy with 54 Highway Traffic Act charges, , two impaired driving charges and is- suing of five driving licence suspen- sions of 12 hours each. Wednesday, vehicles driven by Ber- nardus Dirven, Watford and Daniel McKil, London collided on Highway 21 at: Hay township road 10-11. Damage was set at $8,000. Vehicles operated by Colleen Koehler and Helen Dunn, both of ron Park were in collision Thurs- da r n Canada Avenue near the Fleck Man . cturing plant at lluron Park' Damag were listed at $5,500. A vehic owned by Martin Mom- mersteeg, t 3 Bayfield was parked on the main st • t of Zurich, Tuesday when it reverse ' : nd struck an unat- tended vehicle acr '..s the street own- ed by Ronald Dicke causing $900 In damages. Officers are contin ing the in- vestigation of four caly s found Oc- tober 22 on Highway 83. I anyone has any information please cll the Ex- eter OPP detachment at 5-1300. Cou tax reform by the federal government to Exeter council members Monday night. Mickle said the Minister of Finance is coming up with a fairness on taxa- tion program. He added, "It appears to be far from fair as it will tax municipalities." He continued, "The tax will go on services that we provide which can be offered by private firms. This would include garbage, snowplowing, gravel or any -service that be contracted for and could even go to the point of tax- ing school boards. This could cost tax- payers millions of dollars." - Mickle told fellow council members, "Be prepared to support AMO and CFM in blocking this legislation: It's a regressive tax pro- gram. Let's fight this before it happens." He continued into a second subject which concerned possible changes in education funding and pooling saying, "If commercial and industrial tax base is pooled by region or provincial- ly a municipality with a high com- mercial and industrial base could be paying for other school boards and a shortage at home paid for by the home owner." Mickle, concluded, "It would cer- tainly take the competitive spirt out of municipal government. It's scary and could be very expensive." Mayor Bruce Shaw added, "Now that there is funding for separate cil Briefs Councillor Dorothy Chapman reported the Rec Centre committee had received permission from the in- surance company to dispose of materials left over from the public school after the recent fire. She said a garage sale would be held in the 'hear future. Councillor Ben Hoogenhoom con- tinued his request for curb cuts on' sidewalks at Victoria, Gidley and Sanders streets at Main street and suggested' a private contractor be hired to do the work. Works superintendent Glenn Kells said monies set aide for curb cuts has been spent on sidewalks. "At about $600 a cut for at least•10 cult it would take an injection of new monies," added Mayor Bruce Shaw. . . . . . . In discussing the location of Christmas parties. councillor Dorothy Chapman said, "The Itec Centre is an excellent spot and they need the finances and I see no reason why local people should not support it." Reeve Bill Mickle added. "That's a ° valid point. We should all support the Rec Centre." Public hearing will be held on Thursday, November 12 at the municipal offices to consider Severance and zoning consent ap- plications from Norm and Mary Lou Tait- at 254 Pryde Boulevard and Lorne Keller at 265 Thames Road East. The idea of the town of Exeter twin- ning with the town of Olney in Illinois was brought up by councillor Ben Hoogenboom as both communities have white squirrels as residents. Hooggnboom ,aid the Exeter white squirrel Ropulation is now between 25 and 30. Mayor Bruce Shaw was asked by councillor Tom Humphreys to pro- vide a letter to be included in the new cornerstone at Trivitt Anglican Church. Humphreyr.said newspapers and coins recovered a week ago from a cornerstone placed in 1887 were in ex- cellent condition. school boards, we are already finan- cing two provincial systems." Three mishaps in Exeter Three accidents were investigated this week by officers of Exeter town police department. Damages were set at $2,200 when vehicles driven by Sydney Butler. Lucan and Russell Grainger, Zurich collided Thursday at the intersection of Hill and Main streets. Vehicles operated by Lucille Masse, Zurich and Marilyn Hern, Woodham were in collision Wednes- day on Huron street at Main street. Damages were listed at $1,150. A vehicle driven by Chris Swart - man, Exeter was stopped for traffic on Main street when struck by a vehi- cle driven by John Binet, London try- ing to pass on the right. Damages were estimated at $500. The mishap occurred Friday. Puts Exeter on the map Connie lllman did her part in put- ting Exeter on the map this week. She was the first to get through on the phone when CBC Radio's Ontario Morning "Mangle the Map" archer targeted this ' town on Monday morning. When asked by host Lorne Saxburg what Exeter was famous for, she responded with the news that Exeter,. the home of the white squirrel, has more squirrels than people. Saxb,r g, obviously not a native of southwestern Ontario, speculated on Whether or not Connie had been nibbling on some strange. Hallowe'en. candy over the weekend. She assured him she was sober and in her right mind. Connie's prize is a book about vam- pires, autographed by the author Bost Interest %0 103/ • Guaranteed� `j Investment Certificates ' subject to change GaiseruKneale GCInsurance Brokers ler Exeter 235-2420 Grand Bend 238.8484 Clinton Hansa!! Goderlch 482-9747 262-2119 524-2118 Times -Advocate, November 4, 1987 Page 3 Drain repair appeals over -ruled Three appeals were over -ruled to allow the passing of the bylaw to go ahead with the extensive rebuilding of the West Branch of the Black Creek drain. Hay, township council convened a cotff't of revision to hear appeals from property owners who have concerns about how the proposed reconstruc- tion- of the drain will affect their properties. Four members were appointed to hold the court, including Jack Col- eman to represent Stanley township. Appeals were heard from Glen Weido, who was worried that an im- proved drain would lower his water table and dry out his well on his graz- ing pasture, from Claire Regier, who felt the project was too expensive and would cost him too much, and from Tom Prout of Ausable Bayfield Con- servation Authority, who argued that the authority should not be assessed as deriving any particular benefit from the project and should be billed accordingly. Engineer Bruce Holdsworth assured Weido that if his well should be affected by the project, then the drain project would have to make restitution, even if it required drilling the well deeper. Weido was not convinced that even if such damage could be proved, it could be repaired in time to assure a constant water simply for his cattle. Coleman observed that no problem could be proved to exist at the present time, and the project could not be delayed because of something that might or might not'ever occur. Holdsworth promised that an eleva- tion would be taken on Weido's well before beginning the drain reconstruction, but also pointed out the drain would only be eightinches deeper beside VI,'eido's property than it was after the last cleaning eight year ago. Regier's concerns about the cost of the project, estimated at more than $140,000, were reinforced by his ques- tions about its longevity. Holdsworth repeated his company's insistence on a maintenance schedule for the drain, as opposed to infrequent major cleanouts, and hoped costs would be less over time. Regier also took issue with the lower amount of damages caused by the drain project assessed to his pasture farm in contrast with the damages assessed to cash crops. He saw the cost of replacing his seed as more than replacing corn. However, both Wilder and Holdsworth noted Regier's assess- ment is less than that of his cash crop- ping neighbors, and the project will cost him less overall. "I don't think it's fair, not in the long shot," said Regier, but gave his agreement that the project should go ahead. The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority is eligible for a one-third grant from the government towards their sjiare of costs for drainage pro- jects, but Prout took issue with the authority's benefit assessment on pro- perties having no commercial purpose. Holdsworth countered by pointing out one of the main purposes of the project is the control of soil erosion on lands surrounding. the drain, and that the ABCA would benefit from this, regardless of land use. Prout reluctantly agreed this might be true, but he was relieved to find out all ABCA lands qualify -for the govern- ment grant, and not only some of them, as the drain report mistakenly states. • "We have an obligation here. We were petitioned by the farmers in the northern part of the township," said Wilder about the necessity of clean- ing the drain to alleviate poor drainage conditions. "In order to get an outlet for these farms, we've got to deepen the ditch. It's as simple as that." The provisional bylaw to reconstruct the drain was passed, but tenders for the -project will not be opened until the 21 -day appeal period has passed without opposition. H -P RC Board to -investigate if AIDS policy is necessary The Huron -Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board. con- cerned about the growing problem of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficien- cy Syndrome) will investigate whether the board needs a- policy to 'guide it should one of its employees or a student acquire AIDS. Trustee Ben BrownofSebringville said, "Perth County has recently recorded its first AIDS death and maybe we should act now rather than react if the situation happened, so that cooler heads would prevail". Mr. Brown mentioned the Nova Scotia teacher who recently found he had AIDS which caused a conflict whenparents of his students objected to him returning to his classroom and teaching the children. Trustee John Devlin of Stratford asked if the ministry of education has a policy now to deal with this situation. - Mr. Brown suggested that the by- law and policy , committee should determine whether the board should have a policy or not. While making plans to present the AIDS education program, and .developed by the Institute for Catholic Education, to students in its own schools in Huron and Perth counties, concern was expressed -about the Catholic students attending the public secondary schools in the two counties. The board buys education for 740 high schools students,in Huron County and 722 in Perth County as the board only has one high school, St. Michael in Stratford. Trustee Vincent McInnes of Wingham stated "I don't think we can forget about the Catholic students in the public system. Their very philosophy is totally contrary to what we would teach." William Eckert, director of edca- tion, said the board has a right to question what information was in- cluded in the public schools' AIDS curriculum. . "I don't know what extent their cur- riculum would differ from ours but we should obtain that information as soon as possible", he said. Mr. Eckert stated that the chaplain of the board, Rev. Joseph Finn, felt that teaching about AIDS was the ideal opportunity to stress chastity and the scripture relative to creation itself. Board chairman, Dave Durand of Zurich, wondered if the Catholic students could opt out of the lessons Best Seller Novels imes - Advocate 424 Main St. Exeter Lamination Will protect your fishing and hunting, small game and FAC licenses `2.00 each WE DO IT! 4..4 ,•'.. Mom. M..IA,,.-M... Mw. ,.• imes - dvocate covering the disease hut Trustee John Devlin said it was asking a lot to ex- pect young students to leave a class when ideas contrary to. Catholic morals are being discussed. He said, "Most teenage kids are very sensitive and would rather sit and take it than get up and leave.:' Mr. Devlin proposed that the AIDS curriculum be offered to the Catholic students taking the religious courses at night school where a credit is of- fered. (The only religious program at night is offered at Precious Blood School at Exeter for high school students in public high school, but it is hoped one may be started in St. Mary's in Goderich) . - Trustee Michael Ryan of Crediton suggested the students who most need the AIDS program are not taking the religious classes. The Huron -Perth Board will be starting the AIDS program in the new, year, but in the meantime it has a committee studying it and this com- mittee will present a report on it to the trustees and to parents. - On the AIDS Education committee: are: ommittee- are: Rev.. John Sharp of Stratford, dean of the Huron -Perth Deanery: Rev. Joseph Finn of Kinkora.board chaplain: trustees Ernei;t' Vanderschot of St. Marys. Michael Moriarty of Bayfield: John Devlin of Stratford: Dennis Mackey, religion and family life consultant: William Ecker, director of education: John McCauley. superintendent of educa- tion: teachers, Sister Elaine Carr, St. Michael School. Stratford: Tim Doherty. St. James School. Seaforth: and Margaret Medve, Precious Blood School, Exeter: parents, Anne Melady-Chapin. Dublin: Dr. Linda , Steele. Sheila Rolph. Anne Stewart and Pauline Shore. In other - business. the board granted Tina Doherty. special educa- tion teacher at St. Michael School. Stratford. a leave of absence without pay from October 27. 1987, to August 20. 1988.. A replacement teacher has not been hired as yet. . STUDENT COUNCIL - Usborne Public School has elected its new student council executive for the 1987-88 school year. From left are Aaron Gardiner, treasurer, Michael Strang, vice-president Randy Johnson, president and Carrie Simpson. secretary. 1 Carat ,ern *tic•, )r,I s249., nuy now using our convenient Christmas layaway Plan CLINTON. 8 Albert St EXETER. 284 Ma,n St SEAFORTH. 26 Man SI S ST. MARYS. 135 Oueen St Fast WALKERTON. 203 Durham St r 000ERICH. 2 The Square